Born on September 19, 1950, at Fair Oaks she spent her childhood in Sacramento. At the age of thirteen, her father died in a plane crash. After Bella Vista, she attended California State University in Sacramento and earned a liberal arts degree.
Beginning her news profession, in 1973 she was a trainee for KCRA’s news division and eventually took the roles of being a reporter, anchor, and weather spokesperson. She went to New York City from California in 1975 to work for WABC-TV, a television network. Working her way up the pyramid from giving consumer reports to Good Morning America (GMA), in 1980 Lunden became employed as a GMA host with David Hartman, the leading host. While a host, she defied the norm by discussing her personal pregnancy on air and participated in projects revolving around parenthood.
While working with David Hartman he handled the serious news however, she was still able to cover big occasions including the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana and inaugurations of presidents. As she became more well-renowned, Lunden, arranged a finer contract to be more equal with Hartman.
Even though she had busy schedules as someone with a news occupation, she wrote an autobiography called I’m Joan Lunden, Good Morning America in 1986 and opened up about the barriers she faced as a woman journalist. Due to Hartman’s retirement she received a new co-host, Charles Gibson. As a result of their success together, they were described as the one to win against The Today Show with Jane Pauley and Bryant Gumbel.
Besides working for GMA, her husband, Michael Krauss produced her show, Everyday with Joan Lunden. Concluding to the end of her time at GMA, she wrote two health books and underwent weight loss. She had a spiteful divorce with her husband in 1997 and in that year, left GMA. Although, she continued working in the television world and formed a series named Behind Closed Doors with Joan Lunden.
She remarried to summer camp owner Jeff Konisburg in 2000 and they had two sets of twins together using a surrogate. Lunden still cooperated in television projects, wrote another book, and was a public speaker. The year of 2014 she announced she had breast cancer and her agenda to have chemotherapy and surgery.
People magazine stated when Joan Lunden started in the news business she was unqualified and it showed in her work. Now she can be seen as a pioneer for women in journalism.